FOR RELEASE:   May 23, 2014

CONTACT:  Jeff Mammenga, Media Coordinator, (605) 773-6000, Jeff.Mammenga@state.sd.us

State Historical Society’s Oahe Chapel to Host Sunday Services

PIERRE, S.D. – Sunday morning services begin on June 1 at the historic Oahe Chapel overlooking Lake Oahe. Visitors to the area, as well as local residents, are invited to attend.

Public ecumenical services are held at 8 a.m. CDT each Sunday through Labor Day.  The chapel is located adjacent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Visitor Center, approximately five miles north of Pierre on SD Highway 1804. Services are hosted by the Pierre-Fort Pierre Ministerial Association and the Oahe Chapel Preservation Society.

Participating churches in the 2014 Sunday services schedule include:

June 1 -- Capitol Heights Baptist Church

June 8 -- First United Methodist Church

June 15 -- First Baptist Church

June 22 -- Oahe Presbyterian Church

June 29 -- New Life Assembly of God Church, Bloodwashed Band

July 6 -- Dakota Association

July 13 -- First Congregational United Church of Christ

July 20 -- New Life Assembly of God Church, Bloodwashed Band

July 27 -- Trinity Episcopal Church

Aug. 3            -- First Congregational United Church of Christ

Aug. 10 -- Calvary Baptist Church of Blunt

Aug. 17 -- Southeast United Methodist Church

Aug. 24 -- Lutheran Memorial Church

Aug. 31 -- Resurrection Lutheran Church

The chapel is owned by the South Dakota State Historical Society and managed by the Oahe Chapel Preservation Society, which oversees its maintenance and preservation.

The Oahe Mission was established in 1874 by Rev. Thomas L. Riggs, a Congregationalist minister, and his first wife, Cornelia Margaret “Nina” Foster, to serve as a mission to the Sioux Indians of central South Dakota. The chapel, built in 1877, was originally located on the east bank of the Missouri River at Peoria Flats, roughly five miles upriver from its current location. It was moved to its current location in 1964 after construction of the Oahe Dam flooded the original site.

For more information on the Oahe Chapel summer services, the Oahe Chapel Preservation Society or how to rent the Chapel, contact the State Historical Society at (605) 773-3458.

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The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Tourism. The Department of Tourism is comprised of Tourism, the South Dakota Arts Council and the State Historical Society. The Department is led by Secretary James D. Hagen. The State Historical Society, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is headquartered at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the society’s world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing and administrative/development offices. Call (605) 773-3458 or visit history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call (605) 394-1936 for more information.